


A Few Lessons

by AnonEhouse



Series: Tiny Tony 'verse [7]
Category: Iron Man (Comic), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Daddy Issues, Gen, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-21
Updated: 2012-03-21
Packaged: 2017-11-02 07:08:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/366319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonEhouse/pseuds/AnonEhouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony is ten. Tony is bored. Tony really doesn't belong in military school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Few Lessons

(If you are reading this on any PAY site this is a STOLEN WORK, the author has NOT Given Permission for it to be here. If you're paying to read it, you're being cheated too because you can read it on Archiveofourown for FREE.)

Tony pretty much hates everything about the school from the big iron fence surrounding the property to the harsh white toilet paper. They control _everything_ including when to get up, when to eat, and _what_ to eat. A year ago, on the morning after he arrived, bells had awakened him to the dull gray light that he associated more with going to bed than getting up and the really painful discovery that they wouldn't even let him have a cup of coffee. What made it especially unfair was that none of the other students were restricted that way. Of course the next youngest student was sixteen, but Tony _knows_ there is no scientific validity to the fable that coffee stunts your growth. And really, on his metabolism it has a calming effect, instead of making him hyperactive. 

That first year he thought a lot about escaping, but it was hopeless. As far as he can tell, this school doesn't even have a _name_ or an address, and it's set in the middle of a lot of nothing, unless you count forests and mountains and really, Tony doesn't. He and Jarvis had transferred from the plane to a black helicopter and sat in the back which didn't have any windows, so he doesn't even know for sure what country he's in. To be honest, he knows he's not going anywhere. How can you run away from home when they've already kicked you out?

On the anniversary of his enrollment, he really, really just wants to lie in bed fully dressed with the covers over his head and pretend that Jarvis is going to show up and say he's forgiven and he can come home.

"Hey, Stark. You sick, kid? Gotta go to assembly."

Tony sighs and pulls the covers down. A young black man in crisp black school uniform is standing at the foot of his bed, staring at him in a way that would be scary if Tony wasn't too tired to care. "Maybe I'm sick." He considers the idea. If he's sick they won't let him in his workshop, but on the other hand, he won't have to run the obstacle course.

"Too bad. If you weren't sick I'd give you an introduction to small arms. Maybe even let you handle an M-1 rifle."

Tony sits up at that. "I can't have coffee, but they'll let me have a gun?"

"Sure, you can have all the guns you want. But no ammo. My name's Nick."

"Nick what?" Tony pushes away the covers and reaches for his shoes.

"That's on a need to know basis, Stark."

Tony doesn't roll his eyes, because he's not quite sure Nick isn't serious. This place is weird. "Are we supposed to be spies in training, or something? Because, really, Nick, I would make the world's _worst_ spy."

Nick doesn't laugh, but Tony thinks perhaps the corner of his mouth twitches. "I gotta agree with you there. Your dad needed a safe place to stash you so they made an exception and let you come here. Went to a lot of trouble. Are you worth it? Your dad thinks so. What do you think?"

Tony puts on his shoes. "I think my dad likes to throw money at problems until they go away." Tony puts on the stupid school tie and combs his hair.

"Yeah, I guess he does. But this time, I think he's right. You're not gonna fit into the world, Stark, but we can teach you how to fake it. You're gonna be a target all your life, for your money, or your brains, or, hey, because you're pretty."

Tony looks at Nick and blinks. "Pretty?"

"The girls are gonna be all over you like bees on a honey pot."

Tony's a little uneasy about that. Girls are scary.

"A lot of people are gonna try to use you. You gotta get a thick skin, learn to let things slide off. You're never gonna learn that sittin' in daddy's mansion, playing with toys in the basement."

"You're going to teach me about girls?" Tony is seriously thinking about running away, even if it means starving to death in the woods, or being eaten by bears.

"Sorry, that's every man for himself. But I will teach you how to shoot."

***

"No, no, Stark! You can NOT shoot a gas operated semi-automatic M-1 left-handed! You're gonna scoop your eyeball out!"

Tony sighs.

**Author's Note:**

> Going by the official birthdates of the actors in Iron Man movies, I'm postulating that Nick Fury is seventeen years older than Tony. The school is a facility owned by SHIELD, which was about the only place Howard would trust to keep Tony safe. Tony Stark in the comics is canonically left-handed, while RDJ is right-handed (but did learn to play tennis & the violin left-handed to portray Charlie Chaplin, so he's at least _flexible_ ). And the 'M-1 not for lefties' comes from James deKay's book 'The Left-Handed Book'.


End file.
